How to Read Middlemarch by George Eliot (10 Tips) 

I took Middlemarch on holiday to read many years ago and was so absorbed in the book whilst reading on the beach i failed to notice the tide coming in. The book was thoroughly drenched and I spent days in frutration drying it out before I could continue reading it. I loved it.

I am a non-native English speaker and reading a chapter of Middlemarch is unbearably difficult to understand both the English and context. I took so many minutes just to read a page of it. I read the Oxford edition with explanations to many terms in the book and it’s still not easy. I rarely had this feeling when I read Victorian English books. However I just finished the first book and I really really am fond of it. After watching your video, I think I will stop here and go back to understand deeper each chapter. Wish me luck, this is going to be my biggest read this year!

Your enthusiasm is infectious. You are making the classics irresistible. Thank you!

I am currently reading Middlemarch. It took me about 50 pages to get into the writing style and story but now I'm hooked. My God, what a brilliant woman and beautiful writer. It's quite the page turner, too, once you get a ways in. I've been reading it for a couple of months and I'm currently on page 450 something. So good. I'm a slow reader for the most part, anyway. So what. It's not how fast you read, it's that you enjoy it and get the most of out of that you can. Oh, yes, I agree about finding a book you are comfortable with physically. It's over 700 pages so I think I paperback is the way to go. That's what I have. Yeah, I thought Dorothy Brooke was based on George Eliot or had many similarities.

I read Middlemarch at University, then again a couple of years ago, bc I remembered how much I'd loved it. Now I'm excited to read it yet again, with your tips in mind. I am so inspired by your passion for literature and the depth of your understanding of the allusions and background embedded. I'm the only one in my family or group of friends who loves literature. So, I am particularly gratified to feel included in your conversations; it's something I now realize how very much I have missed! Thank you.

Here’s the original publication schedule: Book 1 was published December 1, 1871; Book 2 on February 1, 1872; Book 3 in April; Book 4 in June; Book 5 on July 29; Book 6 in October; Book 7 in November; Book 8 in December, 1872. I am starting today.

Why don’t you have a billion subscribers? Just brilliant.

Hi Ben, you have produced another great video. One thing I appreciate about you and your channel is the deep level of thought and insight that I find lacking in many other book-tube channels. I am glad that there is someone out there who shares my love of great literature. I read the Penguin Classics edition of “Middlemarch” for the first time in January 2021. I spent about 5 weeks reading it and trying to savor every facet of the book (as I also did this year with “Swann’s Way”). I enjoyed Eliot’s omniscient narration interspersed throughout the story. Casaubon is a character who stands out in my memory. I am not sure if Eliot intended to portray him humorously, but his obsession with research on an esoteric subject was to a degree funny to me. Eliot seemed to imply that those who have so-called “book knowledge” but do not have the ability to connect on an emotional level with others are missing out on what is most important in life. More recently I have read “Silas Marner”-I would have to say that Eliot has become my favorite English novelist-and I have a copy of “Daniel Deronda” that I hope to read in 2022. By the way, I haven’t figured out why Penguin chose a marble bust for the cover art-I always try to decide how the cover art ties to the story.

This is my second read. I loved this book as I identified with each character and was so surprised. I also love the sentence structure in the 1800's. I love reading slowly and absorbing all details. This is a perfect book for that! I am in my car. Had to pull over and write this! So, in car, could not read my book and decided to find it on RU-vid,at a rest stop and stumbled onto this commentary and can't believe how my thoughts parallel exactly, writing in margins, in a notebook, wishing my husband was reading it too so we could discuss it. I was considering buying my own copy and noticing a penciled note of mine in the li brary copy I had read years back! So, thank you for the suggestion of what type of publication of the book to buy! Great sharings!

I just finished Middlemarch. I took it on based on this video. It was excellent and satisfying. Thank-you!

Upon looking at the length of the book, I was truly daunted. I really did not think I could commit to such a book. I began listening to the book and I felt mentally drained. However, as I had heard you refer to this book as being the best book written in English I decided to listen to some reviews etc. so that I could be less stressed about not understanding the story. I find that When I listen to a story over many times that each time I get more out of the story. For example, I watched “Great Expectations” by Dickens on TV before reading the book. This allowed me to get an idea of the plot etc before reading the book. Of course I found the book so much more interesting as the many characters were so well developed and the societal issues going on made you think about what it would be like to live there with them all. The characters were my friends. Your tips have helped me prepare for reading this book and I thank you so much.

Yay!!! for Middlemarch!!! This will be my third time/attempt to read it. I had truly planned to give up after the failed 3rd. Then I found you! Reading in chapters makes sense! In the 1950s, The Legend of Davy Crockett was serialized in the Detroit News. I was in 3rd grade! I not only loved reading each installment, but I cut them out and pasted them into a scrapbook! I still have it. This is why Im enjoying your discussions. I hope to be ready to jump into one of the Book Discussions soon. But I will commit to reading the first 3 chapters of Middlemarch. Thank you.

I'm just a few chapters into Book 1 and it is obvious that Marian will bring us all to account in more ways than one! What an observer of humanity, she is!

Thank you for this video! I first read Middlemarch years ago by audio and didn't care for it, but now I'm ready to try again in book form, more slowly with your tips. Happy New Year!

Hello! I came across your channel yesterday and watched a couple of your videos which led me to this one. You have inspired me to pick up Middlemarch again! I read it at University 30 odd years ago! I didn't particularly enjoy it at the time and could never quite understand why so many people say it's Eliot's best or their favourite work. I love George Eliot - my favourite being The Mill on the Floss. I wish this video was around when I first read Middlemarch! I'm sure I would have read it differently! I'm sure as a student at the time, I probably read it within a week - so I am going to take my time, take your advice - and read it slowly!

Wow! This site is the best one I have ever experienced. Such an informative, articulate presentation. All the book club members will certainly follow. I am definitely going to follow religiously. A blessing for all serious readers. Thanks so much.

I definitely plan to read Middlemarch next year alongside the bookclub. Speaking of the bookclub, I got all my books prepped and ready to go! Looking forward to it, Ben!

I have just found your channel this week. You are full of enthusiasm and knowledge. Many thanks for your encouragement. Read it at university. It is wonderful to have background of the time. I have done geanealogy and it has tied in well with uni in the past - from navy records in war against Napoleon to literacy and later advancement. Had two generations of 19th c book canvassers and have some of those books still - back when people cared for their things even with rereading..

We used to call it Middlemargin! One of my fave books

I just finished Middlemarch and loved it. Even more so because it's the 'sort of book' I never thought I'd read and I expected it to be hard going but it really wasn't. I found Eliot's psychological insights wonderfully perceptive and thought provoking.

Perfect timing. I picked up Middlemarch this week with hopes of starting it early in the new year. Thank you.

Thank you for posting these tips and sharing your vast knowledge with us. I am inspired to read a few books that you suggest. You remind me of some of my fav professors. There is a library book sale coming up - fingers crossed.

Excellent tips and great insight, thank you.

Read Middlemarch many years ago but can’t wait to reread with you. It was one of my favorite books! However, older and hopefully wiser I believe there is much more to her insights than I initially observed. Thank you. Happy reading!

I was teaching overseas and the school library was mostly the Grat Books and Classics. I was swept up in Middlemarch as I traveled through Indonesia and Australia. Nothing like enjoying the beaches of Lombok as you read a novel set in Victorian Englad. I look forward to rereading this book using you suggestions.

Great that you should post this, I've just been reading middlemarch. Slowing down to live with the characters is a great tip, thanks

My most fave novel until now. Love this a lot.

Thanks for the tips! On my TBR for 2022!

If anyone is looking for an audiobook version I would HIGHLY suggest the Naxos version narrated by Juliet Stevenson (who played Dorothea in the BBC production). Stevenson is a brilliant narrator, giving dozens of characters their own unique voices, while capturing Eliot's sardonic narration perfectly. Actually anytime there is a version of an audiobook narrated by Stevenson, go for it.

Awesome video... I LOVE George Eliot & Middlemarch.💗 It was the first novel I read from her.

You are my new favorite RU-vid channel, (I am sharing them with my friends).

I am now reading Middlemarch and plan on reading it serially as this video recommends. Loving it so far.

Thank you for this! Wow.. You have cheered me on. I will tackle this book! TY again.

Thank you so much you have made my reading even more enjoyable. Middlemarch is truly wonderful! I wish that I could have known George Elliot. Actually by reading her books I do know her.

Middlemarch my favourite novel of all time.

I absolute love your videos 📹

Excellent video. Glad I took the time to listen. I started Middlemarch a month ago. My edition does not include an Introduction, so I feel like I am missing a lot of context. I’m in the second volume and was tempted to give up, thinking “why do I care?” Your advice has made me realize that I need to do a little more work in order to get more out of the book. Too bad I didn’t know about the book club nine months ago. Seems like a wonderful resource.

What a lucky purchase, the folio. Well deserved. Thank you for this energetic video, Benjamin.

Hi Ben - I just discovered your channel recently and love it. I've gotten so much out of your suggestions. I first read Middlemarch 50 years ago when I was in graduate school. I remember that it made a huge impression on me but I couldn't quite remember how. After listening to your Deep Reading video I decided to go back to Dorothea for a deep (re)reading. I'm taking all your suggestions - stopping to find out why Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy might be excerpted as an epigraph, what is it about Jeremy Taylor that would have inspired Dorothea, why was she impressed by Pascal’s Penseés? I'm keeping a journal and reading serially. I've never read a book like this before. The best part was that I've come across the three pages that hit me with a wallop. During their honeymoon/work trip in Rome, disillusionment begins to set in. "...the large vistas and wide fresh air which she had dreamed of finding in her husband's mind were replaced by anterooms and winding passages which seemed to lead nowhither." "Poor Mr. Casuabon himself was lost among the small closets and winding stairs..." She then of course hits him with the kill shot: "All those rows of volumes - will you not now do what you used to speak of? Will you not make up your mind what part of them you will use, and begin to write the book which will make your vast knowledge useful to the world?" I abandoned graduate studies soon after reading Middlemarch because I was afraid of becoming an Edward Casauborn. My reading is provoking a really wonderful and profound consideration. In some/many ways, yes, she was Dorothea but she was also Edward. If, as you say, she did tons of research, perhaps she was directing those questions to herself as well: "when are you going to stop researching and actually put yourself on the line?" I love how, in Chapt 15, she takes a big turn and reveals herself as the omniscent narrator and breaks down the 4th wall of literature (so to speak) to talking directly to the reader: "At present I have to make the new settler Lydgate better known to anyone interested in him that he could possibly ber even to those who had seen most of him since his arrivale in Middlemarch." Melville also speaks directly to the reader at times in Moby Dick, those are some of my favorite passages. I hope she has a darn good reasong for gossiping about Lydgate and his infatuation with Madame Laure! Shame on her.

Middlemarch is among my favorite classics. I've read it several times since the 1990s and still think about the story often.

A Humble Tip: While reading through the book, I tried to keep a track of the characters by drawing family charts and connecting them. **Middlemarch is one of my favourite works of literature. Incredibly complex characters. Masterful descriptions of their mental state by Eliot along with really helpful lessons on life. Absolutely Genius.

Great stuff, as per!

Thank you so much for this video. Awesome pointers and tips about this challenging and deep classic. I have The Modern Library edition (2000) paperback and it's quite an amazing edition in my opinion. Oxford World Classics of novels are always good too. I love your point about taking notes. I used to write in the books, but have started to just take notes on novels in a notebook. But I think it is a great strategy to write out thoughts in real time as you read. This is a very complex work and I appreciate the level of sophistication that Eliot brought to the table writing this novel. Also, I see quite a few parallels with this and Thomas Hardy also, one of my favorite classic authors. Anyhow, awesome and helpful video. Take care!

Love this! Omg everything you say is golden…

I just finished Middlemarch and have been concurrently reading Persuasion by Austin. I enjoy victorian novels and period pieces. It took me about three weeks to read it. I had started it several times previously, but I was determined to read it because of your encouraging video. I am very glad I read it. We hear about media influencers in popular culture. Yours is truly worthwhile. Have a lovely day.

I want to read this so much. I recently watched a brilliant documentary on George Eliot and I have had Middlemarch sitting on my bookshelf for a couple of years now. Reading Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd right now but I hope to read Middlemarch very soon. I also really want to read The Count of Monte Cristo so there's that. Eliot and Hardy are considered to have a very similar style so reading them together would actually be a great idea.

Amazing! Thank you so much!

Nice Setup!

Just finished Middlemarch in Middlenovember. Thanks for the inspiration!

I'm going to say what I don't think has been said about Middlemarch before (at least I haven't heard it yet.) You would think that Dorothea and Dr. Lydgate would be a perfect match for each other (both were young, idealistic, unable to achieve their goal to do something big to improve people's lives, and both were suspected of having done immoral things toward the end of the story (Dorothea of having committed adultery or at least of being glad that her husband had died so she could now marry Will Ladislaw - and Dr. Lydgate, of killing Raffles for money, or at least looking the other way while Bulstrode killed him) You keep waiting for both of them to fall in love and run off with each other, leaving the narrow-minded and judgmental town of Middlemarch behind. But this never happens. And while Lydgate does share characteristics with Dorothea, he is not the man in Middlemarch who is her male equivalent. In my opinion, the male Dorothea is actually Caleb Garth. Although he is not available to her, as he is both married and way too virtuous to ever cheat on his wife, you'll notice that Caleb's virtue puts him in the "almost too good to be true" category. And like Dorothea, he has only one seeming flaw - naivete. Dorothea's naivete was her interest in building a cottage industry at Lowick, a childishly utopian plan that cost far more money than any one person even a "rich" one could afford. And Caleb's naivete was in thinking it made any sense to sign a loan for Fred Vincy, a young man who was known to be irresponsible and unwilling to bring in money. Caleb and Dorothea even share the trait of wanting to give people second chances and see a warped character reformed. Caleb is relatively civil and kind when he has to decline Bulstrode, telling him that a man may have done evil and wish to rise above it. Dorothea, when told that Lydgate's character may have been corrupted, claimed that it could then be healed and restored. Sorry for writing so much. I just had to get this off my chest!

Thanks Benjamin for this fantastic video on Middlemarch. I started reading the introduction last night (Penguin Classics Edition!).

I'd love to see a video like this on War and Peace. I actually finished The Brothers Karamazov a couple hours ago and it's my first experience with Russian literature. It's definitely made me want to give the copy of war and peace I've had sitting on my shelf for the past few years a go, but it still looks so incredibly intimidating.

My favourite book, which I have read on numerous occasions. But I have never approached it serially, and you have whetted my appetite to do that! Great tips, thank you.

Again, on the beam, Benjamin; thanks much.

Thank you. I was just getting ready to read Middlemarch again. May I recommend for your perusal and comments, Kristen Lavransdatter by Sigrid Unset. Wonderful set of three titles.

I love finding used copies with notes in the margin. I hope that you end up annotating the Folio Society edition!

Brilliant video!As a literature student i have been wanting to read this for a long while now. But i kept proacstinating because of the size of the book and lack of time on my part. I'm picking it up again and this video sounds very helpful for my journey ahead. I'll update my reading here as i go, to keep myself accountable ☺️

Thank you for your very helpful video as I am about to embark on the penguin hard Back edition of Middlemarch. I intend to read it in cereal for him and write in the book like you suggested because I do that anyway. I’m a native speaker with four years of college but am daunted by Tomes. Aloha

I'm so pleased I came across your channel, I've read some real humdingers in the last two years, Dostoevsky and Cervantes being my favourites. Easier reads like Charles Bukowski I value just as much. Have you read him?

Thank you : )

My sisters are I are tackling this book this summer. We are all teachers, so are off for the summer. While I am intrigued by your idea of serial reading, I'm not sure we'll use that method. I'm halfway through the first book and am enjoying it so far. Look forward to more!

So much more excited about reading this now. I will take my time and read something else alongside. ‘War of the worlds’ at the moment then probably ‘The Woodlanders’. Thanks 🙏

Came here before embarking on my first read of Middlemarch. I feel prepared and supremely excited. Thank you for the reminder to break these books up!

I really love this novel and author. I've read Middlemarch twice and I thought about the book so much i had the entire plot in my head to go back and forth with. That's when I was younger, I could not do that now.

Recently subscribed to your channel, I have to say, I am currently binge watching every video you have made! I am debating right now whether or not to join the hardcore book club, I think you are and would be an amazing teacher/lecturer. I have one question however. What is your take on the Count of Monte Cristo, I don't remember you talking about it much in any of your videos, I may have missed it. For me, personally, it's one of, if not, my favourite novel thus far.

Thank you so much

Good tips!

Just started it, avoided it so long. Over one hundred pages in now and am blown away by the writing!

Greetings from South Africa. I have a paperback edition somewhere on my shelf, but for some reason or other I read "The Mill on the Floss" first. Which sort of made me feel I've had enough of Ms Evans😊. But your video has made me decide to get into Middlemarch, especially after your suggesting it be read in serial form. Great series, Ben.

One of my favourite books of all time. This and The Odyssey

I love your channel - Middlemarch is a masterpiece but requires a lot of concentration at times.

Thank you for for insight and suggestions. M has been on my shelf for many years, unread. This is about to change.

Agreed on perseverance. It took me three attempts to breach pages 75-100. It was only around halfway that I started enjoying this book and now feel I will be sorry(ish) to complete it at my current 70%.

I'm such a Middlemarch fan that I actually looked up the chemist Davy and the poet Southey, two scholars who were just mentioned very briefly in the TV series. Arthur Brooke mentions at dinner that he once met the poet Wordsworth. I was as astonished as if he'd said he'd conversed with Shakespeare. Then I remembered that Middlemarch was set in a time when people who had been contemporaries of Wordsworth were still alive.

Reading Middlemarch has been such a fantastic journey. Its the prowess of George Eliot's pen that made me empathize with all the characters. I absolutely loved reading the chapters about Dorothea and Mary Garth.

I just finnished Middlemarch yesterday. In general, i think its a literature masterpiece, now I really want to continue with another work by george eliot.

I am just beginning my adventure of middlemarch! I am beyond excited

This is a great introduction to Middlemarch.

I am nearly finished my first read of this book. I was intimidated to start reading it, but it sucked me in from the first few pages. Middlemarch is delightful. Even if you weren't reading it with the intention of extracting a deeper meaning from it, it would still be such an enjoyable read.

Recommend the audio book read by Juliet Stevenson. Really hams up the more colourful characters, brings the book to life and makes you appreciate what a funny book this is. Also makes you want to go back to the text…

Just starting with Middlemarch, i chose the Penguin Classics paperback version since I enjoy their previous classic versions, i like their 8 separations which makes it seem less daunting. Im not a novice to long novels but i must enjoy the content and i fear i am bored with the content after only reading the first chapter. I will preserve and read the rest as i made it a personal ambition of mine to read as many classics as possible (female authors preferance), and middlemarch is almost in every top classics list. Thank you for this video it only reignites why i started reading this book in the first place.

Benjamin, would you be able to say what year is your Folio edition from? I'm looking for one and I found that Folio has published different editions throughout the years. Since the illustrator differs, I'd enjoy hearing what's the illustrator's name in yours. --Thank you!

Have you tried paper tabs and post its to annotate more expensive editions? I find colour coordinating for language/theme/philosophy etc, easier too with different tabs 😊

I’m going to read it for Victober this year.

I’m currently preparing for my PhD in English exams, I find I haven’t fallen in love but into deep forms of respect and reverence. I’m an Austen focused scholar (can I say this yet? lol) and I prefer the more performative nature of Austen. But this video has been so helpful to me in encapsulating contextual information around Middlemarch. Thank you!!!

I've just started reading Middlemarch. No problems yet! I'm reading it on my tablet, a copy of which was obtained via a free download. Decided to read it after reading Adam Bede which I enjoyed.

Sorry, read it twice, well didn't finish the second time when it dawned on me that I had already read it. I tried again when it was touted as the greatest novel, maybe so, but just not for me. I loved Silas Marner and The Mill On The Floss, so I, "march to the beat of a different drummer." I also think On Civil Disobedience is more important than Walden, but Walden has the best quotes. That is a very pretty slip cased edition. Thank you for the first class lectures.Thanks for all the images.

Definitely among my top 5 novels of all time. I very much recommend Rebecca Meade's literary memoir "My Life in Middlemarch" if anyone needs inspiration to get into this novel.

I am going to read Middlemarch after I finished the sublime selected poems of JOHN keats from Penguin Classics. I bought a beautiful hard cover Everyman's Library Classics series hard cover version of Middlemarch.

I have to get the book first. Seattle, WA.

Thank you for the recommendation, a day after watching the video i went and buy a copie. I started reading in november 2022 and stoped after 150 pages, thinking the endless plot twist between the 3 major couples in the novel is hard to fallow. I gave the novel a second try this month- February 2023, finish midelmarch in one month.

Another great book: My Life in Middlemarch by Rebecca Mead.

My history with George Eliot is short and unhappy. I started with Silas Marner, which was a good read despite its reputation. Then I leapt to Middlemarch and didn't get far. This was a while ago and as the nice lady said, Middlemarch is a novel for grown ups. Four years ago, I tried The Mill on the Floss, read a large section, but did not finish. In 2022, Middlemarch is on my list, along side Dickens and Balzac.The advice sounded good, so I will do my best.

Thank you so much Ben for the most encouraging video to read Middlemarch. If not for this channel, I wouldn't have dared tread on the big classics but over the course of your own journey from inception, you were helping me shape mine as well in the literary world. I am currently into Book 2 and absolutely adore it. And the preface is powerful and beautiful; I read it over and over again as you advised and it says it all! 🙏🏼

I started reading Middlemarch about a month ago. The hard part for me at first was keeping up with all the characters. I found it sad for Casaubon and Dorothea to honeymoon in Rome and just go to the library. Anyway, after about the third serial section, I have most of the characters straight.

Probably my favorite novel

I wouldn't typically pay any mind to a video about "how" to read anything.. just open up the damn thing and read it, right? But I've tried this book multiple times and just don't get it. I might crack and watch this. I love Woolf, who loved Middlemarch, so it feels like I should also love Middlemarch. My current problem with the book is I have this feeling every other line is being written with the intention of being quotable, as though she knew she was "writing a classic." Dostoyevsky, to use another classic author as an example, also has many quotable lines, yet that feels more effortless. I can't get past the feeling Eliot was trying to write something great.

It’s’ hard to read some of the smaller prints. Could you perhaps mention print size for us older folks?

Currently reading it and Lydgate's medical reformation endeavours does confuse me a bit, and I get lost. Do you have any advice on how best to tackle this storyline?

"Theophrastan archetypes"... i got that. Nice.